Lost Boy
by LadyLaufeyson1
Summary: Loki falls from the Bifrost, landing in a particularly rough, desolate corner of Earth. Without his magic, he is forced to rely on the kindness of a young woman who is in the midst of dealing with her own misfortunes. This story is told through her perspective. Takes place post-Thor 1 and before Avengers.
1. Chapter 1

I was a small town girl. I lived in a crappy, run-down apartment that I rented for cheap from a drug addict named Bill on the outskirts of Landon, Kentucky. I waitressed part-time at the local diner, Peggy's, in between taking classes at a nearby community college where I was studying to be a paralegal. My mama died of an overdose when I was eight and my dad left well before then, leaving me to be raised by my gran, who passed a few years back. I spent most of my nights from the time I was eighteen until the time I was twenty-two taking my clothes off for money and the rest of the nights in between doing worse for it. There was nothing special about me. More important to this story though, nothing special ever happened to me. Not until he came along.

It was nearly three years ago today. I remember it well because it was just two days before my twenty-sixth birthday. I had gone for a walk down to the quarry with Sam, the man I had been dating at the time. Sam wasn't the best choice I ever made, but in these parts the men are so few and far between you do well to convince you've got the pick of the litter. In this case, the pick of the litter was a forty year old drunk who paid my college tuition but spent as much time giving me a black eye and cracked ribs as he did at the bar. You can only imagine what the rest were like.

Now, I'm not saying all of Kentucky was as bad as Landon. Kentucky is a beautiful state, with plenty of lovely people in it. I just happened to live in one particularly unsavory town, where the only thing exciting to ever happen was President Carter passing through on business in the late 70s. Allegedly he stopped at Peggy's and said their chicken pot pie was the best he'd ever had. "Jimmy's Pot Pie" is still on the menu.

Anyways, I digress.

"You look mighty fine tonight, darlin'," Sam said as we walked, taking a swig of his beer with one hand, wrapping his free hand around my waist to grab my butt.

I flinched, taking an extra long sip of my own beer. Whatever possessed me to get involved with a man like that, I couldn't say. In the beginning, I thought he was sweet. By continuing our relationship I hoped I would someday see that same man again, but I never did. I suppose I could make excuses all day, but in the end, I knew why I was with him. I was a semester away from finishing my degree. After graduation, I'd drive away from this county and never look back.

As we reached the quarry, we sat, letting our feet dangle off the rocks over the water far below. He wrapped his arm around me as a breeze picked up and pulled me towards him, forcing us both on our backs. I looked up and sighed. The good thing about living in the country, the only thing really, was how visible every bit of the night sky was.

"You ever wonder what's really up there?" I asked as I stared up at the stars in wonder, not caring at all what his response would be. Just recently, mixed reports had come out of a small town in New Mexico about possible aliens - "Gods dropping out of the sky" - and all that. It wasn't entirely unbelievable what with all of the strange "superhero" goings on at the time in our country, but aliens would have been a first. As usual though, the only video footage was horribly blurry. Also, New Mexico didn't exactly have the best reputation for credible accounts of alien life.

"Ain't nothin' up there," he scoffed, grabbing a few pebbles to toss over the edge of the rocks.

"That's Orion's belt," I continued, ignoring him as I pointed to three stars lined up closely together in a row. I smiled. As a girl, I spent many nights up at the quarry, mapping out constellations from an old book I found at the library, hoping, wishing that there was more out there. No matter how sad or isolated I felt, no matter how people endlessly disappointed me, when I looked up at that night sky, when I found Orion, I knew everything would be okay. I knew I wasn't alone.

"Here, have my belt," he laughed idiotically, grabbing my hand and placing it over his buckle.

"No," I said, rolling my eyes as I pulled my hand away. "Not now."

"Aw, come on," he said, taking another long swig of his beer. "When was the last time we made love in the great outdoors?"

"Oh, I don't know... two, three days ago."

"Been that long, huh?"

"Not long enough," I mumbled, pulling my sweater tightly around me as I sat up, throwing back the rest of my beer. I hated when he'd refer to our intolerable fuck sessions as making love. I had never made love. The concept was laughable.

"What did you say?" he said, grabbing my elbow harshly and turning me back towards him. His mood always turned on a dime, alcohol or no alcohol.

"Give it a rest, Sam," I said, struggling to free myself from his grip. I should have been much more afraid of him than I was, but I could never be silent. The state of my face often reflected that.

"Ungrateful bitch," he said, surprisingly letting me go. Sometimes I got lucky. Other times, not so much.

He was the son of the wealthiest man in town and all he ever did was piss away his inheritance on strippers and booze. Most times I felt like his prostitute, and I guess I was, since the relationship was for money and about as loveless as you could get. He paid for my college and in return I'd sleep with him and provide some sort of companionship for the miserable bastard. I wasn't proud of it, but coming from a family who didn't have two dimes to rub together, I knew it was one of the fastest ways out of the hellhole that was this county.

"How was the bar earlier?" I said, trying to change the subject as I lit a cigarette and took a few drags. "Did you see Marlene?"

"Nope. Haven't seen that cunt in weeks."

"She's your mother."

"Do I look like I give a fuck?"

"It was just a question."

"I'm tired of your mouth," he said, reaching down to unzip his fly. "Put it to better use."

"I already told you no," I sighed, knowing this was about to go down one of two ways. Me giving him what he wanted, or me lying face down, passed out in a pool of my own blood while he took what he wanted. Most times, I didn't fight him. Tonight was different. I felt inexplicably brave.

"Come here," he said, grabbing me forcefully, but as soon as he did, a bright light flashed across the sky just above us. A massive green orb tumbled through the atmosphere, crashing in the woods less than about a mile away. Several moments later we heard a noise that sounded like a man yelling in pain. We stood, paralyzed.

"What the fuck," Sam whispered, clearly shaken even in his drunken state.

"Someone's hurt by it," I said, more concerned about the voice yelling in the woods than the brilliant, beautiful globe that had just shot out of the sky. "I'm going in."

"The hell you are!"

"Sam, there is a man in there and he is in pain. I'm not going to just leave him!"

"That's what the authorities are for, damnit!"

"GO HOME THEN," I yelled, surprising even myself as I took off quickly into the woods. I listened, afraid of hearing his footsteps charging after me, but to my surprise he didn't follow. I remember thinking at the time that I was certain I would get it later, but I didn't care.

I ran for several minutes towards the sound of the voice, but it didn't last long. Instead, I used the faint, green glow emanating from the middle of the woods as my guide, certain that if I ran after it I could find the man that was hurt, and hopefully in time. I slowed as I reached the light, slightly fearful of whatever I was about to see or find. I had no experience in dealing with mangled limbs or dead bodies, but I had taken a first aid class in high school and still recalled much of what I had learned. As I walked closer and stepped out behind a large tree to get a better look, I abruptly stopped in my tracks.

In a clearing less than twenty feet in front of me was a man lying on his back, motionless, his eyes closed. The faint green light danced around him like a thousand fireflies gathering together on a summer's night. It was breathtaking. I didn't know much about what I was witnessing, but I think I accepted immediately that he was not from this world.

I walked over and crouched down beside him, relieved as soon I saw the rise and fall of his chest. I studied his dark, slicked back hair, his pale skin, his strong cheekbones - he was mesmerizing. His peculiar black leather garb and green cape made him look like he had just waltzed out of one of those nerd conventions, only he looked so natural in it. I watched as the embers moved lively around his form, concentrating only on specific areas at a time. It was then I realized that the light was trying to heal him.

I shifted to get a better look at his face. There were no cuts or scratches that I could see, no obvious blood to be found anywhere. I noticed, even though he was unconscious, that fresh tears stained his cheeks. It was unsettling. Boy, why are you crying? I automatically recalled Wendy asking Peter Pan in a line from my favorite story as a child.

"Hello?" I whispered, fighting a strong urge to touch his hand, to rouse him in some way, but I had a feeling I was not to disturb whatever process was taking place.

I sat beside him for a while with my knees pulled under my chin, watching the lights in awe. As the cold sank in, I felt myself drifting off. I remember thinking briefly about Sam, wondering why he hadn't called for help, then reminded myself he was probably passed out in a ditch somewhere. It was a long while before there was any sign of movement, but once I heard the bed of leaves rustling next to me, I was wide awake once more.

His eyes remained closed, but the rest of him was beginning to move. He looked as though he were awakening from a deep sleep, though his expression was clearly pained.

"Try not to move so much," I said calmly, trying not to startle him. "Are you hurt?"

At the sound of my voice, his eyes flew open. His head turned slowly to look up at me, his striking eyes piercing mine. I swallowed. He looked like someone who had woken up only to realize they were still knee-deep in their own nightmare. I knew that feeling.

"Hi."

"Ugh," he groaned, closing his eyes once more. His voice was raspy and hoarse. "Midgard."

Midgard? I thought to myself, unaware of the term though it sounded vaguely familiar.

"Let me help you," I said, starting towards him but he pinned me once again with those eyes, and weakly held up his hand in protest.

"Don't. Touch me."

"Look," I said, my patience wearing thin as the cold wind whipped around me. "I have to get you to a doctor. It's the middle of the night and there could be... well, anything lurking in these woods."

"I promise you," he said as he managed to push himself up to a sitting position, his angry, bitter eyes boring into mine as he breathed heavily. "I am the worst thing in these woods."

"Well, I'm not afraid."

"I applaud your courage, truly," he replied, the feigned lightness in his voice dripping with sarcasm. "But you will be."

You'd have to do some pretty terrible things to compete with the men around here, I thought to myself, my fingers flocking to my bruised right eye which was, thankfully, covered in makeup. "Why were you crying?"

"What?"

"You were crying. Your face is still wet."

"I was not crying, I can assure you," he snapped, reaching up casually to wipe his face.

"You're a liar."

A dark, maniacal laugh escaped his lips. "Oh, you have no idea."

Something about the tone in his voice sent a chill up my spine, but I ignored it, convincing myself it had something to do with the weather. "So are you like, an alien or something?"

He sighed heavily and put his head down in his hands between his knees, ignoring my question. "Pray tell, where exactly have I landed on your precious Earth?"

"Kentucky," I half-smiled, almost proud to break the bad news. "Landon, Kentucky in the good old U.S. of A. Congrats. Of all the places to fall, you certainly picked one of the worst."

"I didn't have much of a choice. And I'm not exactly planning on staying."

"No? Then you won't mind if I just - go now?" I gestured with my hands.

"Hardly."

I shrugged casually and turned to walk away, thinking that if I was ever going to get him to come willingly I had to do something a bit more drastic. I didn't make it very far before -

"HEIMDALL! OPEN THE-"

He trailed off, never finishing the strange sentence. I whirled around in time to see him pitifully trying to pull himself up against a tree trunk. He was still too weak. I watched as he then focused on his hands. Golden embers shot from his fingertips briefly before burning out. I stared in awe.

"Damn!" he exclaimed loudly, shaking his head in frustration. He tried once more to lift himself to his feet, but just before he could fall again, I ran to his side.

"Jesus, you weigh a lot," I winced, wrapping my arms around his leather-clad torso as I struggled to pull him upright.

"I told you-" he protested, but made no effort to shove me off. "Not to touch me."

"And I didn't listen. And now you're standing," I said calmly, steadying him on his feet before letting go. "You're welcome."

I thought for a moment he was going to lean forward and strangle me, but instead he turned away and began very slowly walking himself around, holding his lower back with one hand as he did so.

"Well?" I asked after several minutes, placing my hands on my hips impatiently, silently wondering if all aliens had british accents.

"Well, what?" he snapped, not turning back to look at me.

"Can we go now?"

"Will you cease your incessant babbling if I say yes?"

"Probably not," I laughed, thoroughly enjoying the rise I was getting out of him. "But I'll try."

He sighed heavily once more and looked up at the night sky, like he was waiting for it to suck him back up or something. I decided to start walking, figuring he would follow if he wanted and he did. We walked through the woods in complete silence for what seemed like forever, slowing down at times so that he could catch his breath. Once we reached the quarry I turned back to him and pointed in the direction of my apartment, hoping with everything in me that Sam would be back at his house by now.

"My place is just a few minutes from here. We can stop, if you need to."

He shook his head and continued to walk, always several paces behind me. I thought it strange that I was more comfortable with letting this man, this being, who I didn't know at all into my home than I was with Sam. Sam wanted me to come live with him, probably so I cook and clean for him, but I always refused. My apartment, while small and run down, was really all I had left of myself.

I turned the corner of my driveway, breathing a huge sigh of relief when I saw that Sam's truck had gone.

"Oh, you have got to be joking," he said as he took one look at the shack I called home, wincing in pain with every step he took.

"It's not much," I said, annoyed at his slight, rubbing my eyes from sheer exhaustion. "But it sure beats sleeping in those woods."

"Are you so certain of that?"

"Do you have deer ticks, wherever you're from?"

"No."

"Then yeah, I'm certain. I'm Claire, by the way," I said, holding out my hand like a idiot as we reached my front door. He looked from my dilapidated home to my hand in complete disgust, staring at me like I was speaking a different language. "Okay, first order of business, I don't let strange men like you into my apartment without knowing their names."

"Well," he replied, leaning against my porch rail to rest. "First order of business. There are no men like me."

I burst out laughing, which seemed to further ignite his wrath. "Wow. Haven't heard that line before," I said as I pulled my keys from my pocket and flipped on the porch light, shaking my head as I looked back at him. "All men are the damn same, no matter what planet they're from."

He took a small step toward me and looked at my face, a little longer than I was comfortable with. His brow furrowed. I turned quickly away from his gaze and pushed the door open, tossing my keys down on the kitchen table. It took me several moments to realize that he didn't follow me in.

I looked back at the door, wondering what his problem was now. He was still standing outside, just before the threshold, looking in through the screen door at me.

"What is it?" I said, walking back over to him.

"Loki."

"What?"

"My name is Loki," he swallowed, as though the words were difficult for him to say. "May I enter?"

It took me a moment to get over the shock of his propriety, but I nodded, grateful for it all the same. I was only half-joking about the name thing, and no man had ever had the decency to knock nevermind ask to come in, but he seemed to take me quite literally. I wasn't sure what caused the sudden decorum, but it was, in a strange way, endearing.

As he entered, I stopped as I caught sight of myself in the mirror on the wall behind the door. The makeup around my eye had worn off at some point and my bruised, unsightly face stared back at me.


	2. Chapter 2

"I'll just be a minute," I said, avoiding his eyes as I grabbed my purse off the table. "The chairs in the other room are comfortable. Make yourself at home."

I walked down the hallway into bathroom and shut the door, frantically pulling my concealer from my makeup bag. I cringed as I looked closely in the mirror at the greenish-yellow and purple tinge around my eye. I was used to this routine by now, but it never got easier to see myself like this. He looked at me on the porch like he knew, like he knew everything. It wasn't a look of disgust, it was worse. It was confusion with a hint of pity. Why I cared so much about what he thought after an hour of knowing him was a mystery in itself, but for whatever reason, I did.

Once I finished, I pulled out my ponytail and brushed out my long, messy blonde hair evenly on each side. I wasn't sure why I was bothering to freshen up, especially after he had seen me, but it was strange having another man in the apartment that wasn't Sam or Bill.

"You must be exhausted," I called as I shut off the bathroom light and walked down the hallway towards the living room, my head down as I removed the studs from my ears. "Are you sure you don't want me to drive you to the hosp- oh _Jesus_ ," I gasped as I looked up, nearly falling over a chair.

Loki had stripped down to nothing but what looked our equivalent of white boxer shorts. He was sprawled out on the couch, his arm draped casually over his eyes. His stomach was pale and lean but incredibly muscular. The same went for his arms and long legs that hung over the end of the sofa.

He casually glanced up at me from under his elbow, his dark locks fallen across his eyes. " _What?_ " he snapped.

"You're just like... practically naked."

"You requested that I make myself at home, did you not?"

"I did, I did say that," I stammered, walking around the perimeter of the room like he was some sort of creature about to attack. "Here, have - have a blanket," I said as I threw one across the room at him, trying not to stare. I was used to strange, naked men. This was different. _There are no men like me,_ I heard him say in the back of my mind. I was starting to believe it.

"Humans are certainly odd about nudity," he said irritably, sitting up to wrap the blanket around him. "I apologize if I've offended you."

"No, not offended, definitely _not_ offended," I said, sounding a little too much like an idiot. "I'm a lot more comfortable with nudity than you'd believe."

"Is that a fact?" he smirked slightly, cocking an eyebrow up at me.

I felt my face get hot as I looked at him, unsure of why he was looking at me like that. _Don't look at me like that._

"I merely jest," he said, rolling his eyes as he caught sight of my uncomfortable expression. He sat back with his hands behind his head, looking pleased with himself. "I assure you, Midgardians hold no appeal for me."

"Midgardians meaning... earthlings? Well yeah, men from outer space - not really _my_ thing," I lied, knowing full well that if he was one of the men I fucked for cash there wouldn't be anything I wouldn't do if he asked. Hell, he wouldn't even have to pay me.

I walked into the kitchen, hoping to escape the tension of the moment. It was a strange thing to feel so instantaneously drawn to someone, as it had never happened to me before. I couldn't explain it. He exuded sex and confidence, but in an unattainable way which only made him more attractive. I tried hard not to think about it.

"Would you like something to eat or drink? I haven't gone to the store yet this week, but I can make toast. Or a bag of frozen french fries. Or my personal favorite midnight snack... Johnnie Walker," I said, waving a bottle of scotch at him.

"A drink would be most welcome," he said quietly, rubbing his lips, looking lost in thought. I would catch him with a pained, melancholic expression every so often. He seemed to be taking everything rather well despite the fact he was very far from home and had no immediate way of getting back. I couldn't imagine what that felt like, since I never had a home I didn't want to run away from. Still, I felt sorry for him.

Suddenly, car lights flickered through the kitchen windows and a familiar red truck came flying down the driveway.

"Oh my God. _Sam_ ," I yelled, an intense feeling of dread washing over me.

"Who?" Loki asked as he strode into the room, still dressed in nothing but those damn boxers.

"My boyfriend."

"Oh dear," he said sarcastically as he peeked through the blinds, clearly finding amusement in the situation. "You failed to mention you had one of _those_."

"Yeah, well, it's a long story. See that door over there? It leads to my basement. I need you to go through it and not come out, okay? Not until I get you."

" _No."_

" _Please,_ " I begged him, panic starting to take over. Any second now, Sam would come flying through my door and see us standing there.

Loki looked hard at me for a moment, but resigned himself when he looked down and saw my hands shaking, barely retaining a grip on the glass. In a surprise move, he reached up to steady them, holding onto them momentarily before slowly taking the tumbler away. He opened the door to the basement and shot me one last annoyed look before closing it and descending down the stairs.

A second later, the other door flung open and Sam stepped inside, looking livid.

"Been calling you," he said, reeking of hard liquor as he loomed over me. "You ignoring me?"

"No, of course not," I said calmly, though I was just about dying inside. I reached up to fix his shirt collar, but he swatted it away and grabbed onto my throat, shoving me hard against the wall.

"Don't you EVER run off on me like that again, do you understand?"

"Yes-" I gasped, nodding my head as best as I could. His hand tightened before he let go and I slumped to the floor.

"You know, Claire. Sometimes I feel like you don't appreciate the things I do for you."

"I do," I said, playing extra nice with him as I tried to catch my breath. "Of course I do."

He dragged me up off the floor by my collar and kissed me hard, his tongue snaking across my mouth. I tried not to gag.

"I don't enjoy hurting you," he said in between assaulting my lips.

"I know that," I replied, feigning a smile. My stomach turned at thought of what was coming next. I knew I had to keep it together, for the sake of Loki alone. Sam kept a loaded rifle in his truck bed at all times and there was no way I was going to give him an opportunity to use it.

"Take your pants off."

"Sam, darlin', why don't we just go to the bedro-"

"Because if I wanted to go there, I would. Take them off."

 _No. Not here. Anywhere but here..._

"Do you want me to take them off for you?"

I shook my head quickly and did as he asked then turned around to face the sink, hoping it wouldn't last very long. As long as I could just keep us away from the basement door, it was possible Loki wouldn't have to hear any of it.

"Now your shirt."

As soon as I removed my top and bra, Sam undid his belt buckle, letting his pants drop to the floor. He wasted no time at all removing my panties, turning me around so that my back was facing him. I considered it a mercy whenever I didn't have to look at him.

" _Damn girl_ ," he said as he pushed into me, grabbing a fistful of my hair and pulling it back.

I closed my eyes and tried to imagine another place, another time, another man inside of me. Sometimes I would pretend like I was a queen, high up on a balcony overlooking my kingdom while the man I loved made me his. It was completely, utterly ridiculous, because no fucking thing like was ever going to happen. But it kept me sane.

Usually when he was this drunk he never lasted long, which I also considered a mercy. A few minutes later the deed was done. Lucky for me Sam wasn't the type to stick around to cuddle after a screw.

"Where's the rest of the beer?" he said as he zipped up his fly and opened the fridge.

 _Shit,_ _shit, shit_. "It's, uh, I think in the basement."

As he started towards the door I walked in front of it, subtly enough for his drunken self not to think anything of it. "I'll get it for you, baby. Why don't you go relax in the living room?"

"Yeah, alright."

I barely managed to put my bra and panties back on. I knew that if I crossed the room to try put more on his impatient, stubborn ass would go down there himself. There was no time. I swallowed as I opened the basement door, hoping Loki wouldn't be standing right there waiting to come out. I sighed in relief when I saw that he wasn't.

The basement wasn't large, but it was long. Loki sat on a stool at the far right end beneath a small work light, mulling over a picture book of nursery rhymes given to me by my gran. He looked almost angry and also slightly ridiculous, his large legs propped up on such a small stool. I would have probably laughed at the sight if I didn't feel like crying.

"Reading anything good?"

He flipped back a few pages, looking outraged but not yet up at me. "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king's horses and all the king's men, couldn't put Humpty together again. Of all the ridiculous-"

"Don't get all worked up," I interrupted, stifling a small laugh as I crossed my arms over my chest in a sad attempt to hide myself. "Humpty Dumpty was just a nursery rhyme. It wasn't based on real events, you know."

"Wasn't it?" he said quietly to himself, pondering over the pages some more. It was a strange comment, one I wasn't certain I was meant to hear.

After a moment he finally glanced up at me and his expression immediately fell. His jaw clenched and he opened his mouth to say something, but I didn't feel like hearing any jests or snide remarks. Not now.

"Please don't say anything," I said miserably as I quickly grabbed a few beers from the mini-fridge, trying my best to avoid his gaze which I felt burning into me. I had never felt more self-conscious in my entire life. "It won't be much longer. I promise."

When I looked over to him for his compliance, he was still staring, but not anywhere other than my eyes. He nodded.

"Thanks," I said, turning to walk away. "Maybe try reading something else."

"Claire?" he asked suddenly, quietly, saying my name for the very first time. It made me shiver.

I looked over my shoulder at him, casually rubbing the place on my neck where I knew there would be a bruise tomorrow. He looked angry. "What?"

"Are you alright?"

 _No, no, no._ "Yes."

"You're a liar."

"Oh," I said, feigning a small smile before heading up the stairs. "You have _no_ idea."


End file.
